It’s all about how they are spending your money….


By Kenneth C. Rossignol
ST. MARY’S TODAY

LEXINGTON PARK — For the average person in St. Mary’s County who commutes to the Washington area for work the round trip travel costs are part of the expense of maintaining a job. Very few folks are reimbursed and staying overnight in DC is out of the question.
But for the Maryland General Assembly the horse has been out of the barn for a long time and costs of being a legislator are passed on to the taxpayers while the lawmakers dream up thousands of ways to create new laws that somehow Maryland existed without the year before.

Senator Roy Dyson (D. St. Mary’s, Calvert, Charles) and Del. John Bohanan (D. Lexington Park) are just downright cheap when it comes to spending your tax money.

But Del. Tony O’Donnell (R. Lusby), Del. John Wood (D. Mechanicsville and Del. Sue Kullen (D. Port Republic) more than make up for what the two St. Mary’s legislators save.
The delegates and senators who represent Southern Maryland are given an allowance during the General Assembly session which lasts for 90 days from January to April 15th. Legislators are allowed, by the law that they have passed themselves to pay their lodging, travel and meal expenses.

While Sen. Dyson is the record setting cheapskate, having the furthest distance to drive to the daily session from his home in Great Mills, 68 miles, Dyson spends the least on hotel rooms.
Dyson billed the taxpayers for a motel room in Annapolis twice in 2002, none in 2003, twice again in 2004, three in 2005, one in 2006 and once again in 2007.
Dyson’s total reimbursements for food, travel and hotels were: 2002 - $5,048.08; 2003 – $5,697.97; 2004 - $5,896.06; 2005; $6,484.80; 2006 - $6,729.41; 2007 - $7,146.32 and for thru March 6, 2008 his total reimbursements for meals, lodging and travel were $2,692.70.

Del. Sally Jameson (D. LaPlata) blew the most taxpayer’s dollars in 2007, $14,080.38, for keeping her fed, in a warm bed and for gas for driving back and forth to work, a luxury most taxpayers don’t have for simply going to work, like she did during the annual 90 session of the General Assembly. Coming in right behind her just a mere $49 less in self-approved spending was Del. Kullen.

Del. Kullen spent the maximum on Annapolis hotels, staying all 91 nights allowed by the General Assembly rules in 2007 for a total of $10,556.
In addition to the lodging during the 2007, Kullen racked up $2,784 in meals and $691.35 in travel reimbursements.

Kullen’s lodging cost for 2008 was $11,070 and as of March 8, 2008, her meals had run $1,107 and $250.03 for travel. Kullen’s lodging cost was for 90 days, according to the Department of Legislative Services of the Maryland General Assembly.

Kullen spent $9,464 for lodging in 2006, and $8,736 in 2005. She was appointed to replace Del.
George Owings who had been appointed by Gov. Robert Ehrlich to the post of Secretary of Veterans Affairs and won election to a four year term in 2006.
Her total extra costs on top of her salary as a delegate for 2007 came to $14,031.35, making her the second costliest member of the Southern Maryland delegation.

Del. Jameson lives 61.7 miles from Annapolis and according to MapQuest, the time to travel is 1 hour and 13 minutes, which doesn’t take into account the road construction, traffic tie-ups due to the lack of commuter rail in Southern Maryland, and wrecks. It can take up to 2 hours to get to Annapolis from either Great Mills or La Plata.

Thus the $10,556 spent by Jameson during the 2007 session for 91 nights of lodging is somewhat more plausible. During 2006, the figure for lodging was $9,464, during 2003 thru 2005 the hotel stays for Jameson cost $8,736 each year.
Jameson spent $2,743 for meals during the 2007 session and $781.38 for travel. The total costs paid for Jameson by taxpayers in 2007 amounted to $14,080.38. In 2003 the total was $11,455.08; in 2004 - $11,425.66; 2005 – $11,288.08; 2006 – $12,716.15; 2007 - $14,080.38.

As of March 6, 2008 Del. Jameson had only turned in $751.16 in expenses.
The third top spender was another Democrat, Del. Johnny Wood of Mechanicsville.
Del. Wood, who was elected sometime during the administration of Warren Harding, always spends the maximum, staying all 91 days allowed, never missing a meal but taking it easy on gas as he simply goes to Annapolis in January and doesn’t leave until they cut him off at his hotel.

During 2002, Wood spent $624.00 on gas, $1963.00 on meals and $8,736.00 on hotel bills for 91 nights. In 2003, Wood spent $618.80 for gas, $2,214.00 for meals, $8,736 again for his hotel room. In 2004 Wood was reimbursed $628.80 for gas, $2,236.00 for meals and $8736.00 for his hotel. In 2005 the figure was $8832.00, in 2006 it was $9464.00 and in 2007 the room at the inn cost $10,556.00, which came to $116.00 per night, meaning he wasn’t taking a low cost motel room at the Rt. 50 interchange. During the first 48 days of 2008 the bill came to $5,904.00.

Wood’s total reimbursements were $11,323.00 in 2002, $11,566.80, $11,600.80 in 2003, $11,792 in 2004, $11,792.00, $12,538.12 in 2006, $13,906.84 in 2007 and $7,489.62 for the first 48 days of 2008. The complete records for 2008 were not available at the time this information was requested but the full 2008 session costs for legislators will be provided later.

Del. Tony O’Donnell, the Republican Minority Leader and someone voters should be able to count on to be a skinflint, also spends the maximum on hotels but not much on travel. But don’t think he misses a meal. O’Donnell acted like a Republican in 2002 with $11,455.08, but not as low as Dyson and Bohanan. His costs to the taxpayers for creature comforts during the session were: 2003 - $11,455.08; 2004 - $11, 455.66; 2005 – $11,414.12; 2006 - $11,549.76; 2007 — $13,373.48; and as of March 6, 2008 he had paid in advance for his room at a cost of $11,070.00, had eaten $1,025.00 worth of grub and been compensated with $424.20 for gas.

Sen. Mike Miller, the longest serving president of the Maryland senate who now says he will run again in 2010, did not file for travel costs in any of the years for which the ST. MARY’S TODAY request for legislative costs was made. His total for meals and lodging in 2002 was $10,361.00; 2003 — $10,797.00; 2004 — $10,797.00; 2005 $10,893.00; 2006 — $11,484.00; 2007 — $12,634.00; and nothing was paid for the Senate President as of March 6, 2008.

For Sen. Mac Middleton the totals were 2002 — $9,346.80; 2003 — $10,038.75; 2004 — $10,629.20; 2005 – $11,561.00; 2006 — $11,763.11; 2007 — $13,833.35 and as of March 6, 2008 the total was $12,409.76.

Middleton lives 41.5 miles from Annapolis which takes about 50 minutes to travel.
Cheapskate Bohanan carries over his natural cheapness to his public job.
Del. Bohanan’s reimbursements, in sharp contrast to his fellow St. Mary’s delegate, Wood, has been a delegate since 1999 when he was appointed to fill a vacancy and won election in 2002 and 2006.

Bohanan’s total costs for 2002 were $5,509.42; 2003 — $7,787.22; 2004 – $6,749.17; 2005 — $7,756.17; 2006 — $7,863.43; 2007 — $8,014.23 and as of March 6, 2008 he had turned in $4,744.70 in reimbursements.
Current expense limitations are: .50 per mile for gas, $41 for meals and $123.00 for hotels.